


What's Love Got to Do With It?

by ChristineClevesCapricorn



Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25148104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristineClevesCapricorn/pseuds/ChristineClevesCapricorn
Summary: Happy belated Pride Month! After the events of the LMB festival, Nanako has some questions for Dojima. All her friends step in to lend a hand, and to help her understand. One-shot.
Relationships: Adachi Tohru & Dojima Ryotaro, Dojima Nanako & Dojima Ryotaro, Dojima Nanako & Seta Souji
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	What's Love Got to Do With It?

**Author’s Note:** Hi, guys! I haven’t written fanfiction in QUITE a long time, so here’s hoping I haven’t forgotten how this works!

This one-shot is based on the events of Persona 4: Dancing All Night, so if you haven’t played that game yet, you may find that you don’t recognize some of the events I mention. That’s okay, though! There aren’t any major spoilers in here for P4D, I promise.

* * *

**What’s Love Got to Do With It?**

by Charlotte Sagnier

It had been a few weeks already since the harrowing events of the Love Meets Bonds festival, and Nanako had been too busy playing with her beloved Big Bro to say much more about it. Maybe that was why Detective Ryotaro Dojima was caught so completely off guard when, that night at dinner, Nanako suddenly asked a Very Difficult Question.

“Um…Dad?” Nanako fidgeted with her chopsticks, chewing on her lip “Is…is it okay if I ask something?”

“Huh?” Dojima frowned. “Sure, Nanako, what’s wrong?”

“Well…you remember that nice man who taught me how to dance?” When Dojima just looked at her, uncertain what she was talking about, Nanako went on. “You know, Kanamin’s dance instructor, who wore all the pretty colors? Remember?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.” Dojima winced. “Yeah, of course I remember. What about him?”

Just thinking about that dance instructor brought back all kinds of unpleasant memories. No matter what he did lately, Dojima couldn’t seem to avoid all these…well, for lack of any other word, he’d have to call them “supernatural phenomena.” As a licensed detective, the very word “supernatural” irritated him, and he didn’t like the idea of believing in that sort of nonsense, but after the bizarre murder case and Adachi’s confession, and then the unbelievably crazy crap that had taken place with that poor, traumatized idol at Love Meets Bonds, he was having a hard time denying that…well, that there were some things in this world that he just couldn’t explain. That didn’t feel good at all. Unexplained occurrences made the hair stand up on the back of his neck, and-

“Dad, that dance instructor said you were handsome.”

“Wait…huh? What are you-?” Dojima jerked his attention back to the present and stared. “I…no, I think you must have misheard him, Nanako. Come on, eat up. Your food’s gonna get cold.”

“He did, I heard him right,” insisted Nanako. “He said it lots of times; that you were cute, and that you were handsome, and that I should give you his phone number. Then he laughed like he was kidding, but…I don’t think he was kidding, Dad. I think that guy likes you.”

Dojima felt his jaw just sort of drop open as he tried and failed to come up with something to say. “Is…is that so? Huh, well, um…isn’t that flattering? Haha…”

A long moment of silence stretched out between them while Nanako seemed to be choosing her words.

“Do you think so, Dad?” she eventually asked. “Do you think he likes you?”

“Uh.” Dojima cleared his throat. “Well, that’s…”

“Because I was playing with Miwa-chan and Takaya-kun the other day,” she went on, a bit more confidently, “and then Sou-kun came over, and Miwa-chan started making fun of Sou-kun, cause she said that Sou-kun came over because he likes Takaya-kun, and Takaya-kun got angry and said that boys can’t like other boys, and then Sou-kun was embarrassed and he cried, and…” Nanako trailed off. “I felt bad for him. Is it true, what Miwa-chan said? Can boys not like other boys? Because um, if boys can’t like boys, then that dance teacher…”

“Oh, boy.” Dojima took a deep breath. “Well, uh…geez, I guess I figured we’d be having this conversation someday, although, uh, I didn’t…really think it’d be quite this soon. Kids sure are mature these days, or…something.”

Dojima laughed, a little nervously, but Nanako just kept watching him, obviously expecting him to go on.

“Well…you know,” he began slowly, “that a lot of the time, men and women fall in love and get married, like…like me and your Mom, right?”

“Um, of course I know that.” Nanako rolled her eyes. Where, wondered Dojima, had she picked up sarcasm? From him? From the older kids? Was this normal at her age?

“Okay, well,” he went on, “sometimes, men fall in love with other men, and women fall in love with other women.”

“Oh, okay.” Nanako thought about that, then shrugged. “So, like, Big Bro and Yosuke?”

“What?” Dojima blinked. “What do you mean, like-?”

“Because Big Bro and Yosuke love each other very much.” Nanako looked happy. “They call each other ‘partner!’”

“Partner…” Dojima mumbled to himself. “Uh, no, no, not like…not like that at all. I think. Wait, is it like that? Are those two…?”

“But Yosuke and Big Bro can’t get married,” insisted Nanako, frowning, “because Big Bro is gonna marry me someday.”

“Right.,” Dojima chuckled. “Sure, maybe.” In the back of his mind, Dojima was trying desperately to figure out if Yu and his best friend were actually…now that Nanako mentioned it, they were pretty close, but it’s not like he’d ever really thought about it before. Then again, all those kids were pretty close, and so it wasn’t really all that strange, was it? No, of course not.

Nanako had just opened her mouth, apparently to ask another question, when the doorbell rang.

“Huh? Who could be here at this hour?” Dojima frowned, but honestly, he was relieved.

“Can I get the door, Dad?” Nanako waited patiently until Dojima nodded at her, and then she bounced to her feet and hurried over to open the door. ”Oh…everyone’s here!”

Standing outside in the summer air was, indeed, what looked like ‘everyone.’ Except for Yu, who had gone back to his home in the city only a few days before, the whole gang seemed to have shown up. Yosuke, Kanji, Chie, Naoto, Teddie, Yukiko, and even that idol, Rise, who was leaving town herself in a few days to go back to a full-time life of show business.

“Wow!” Nanako was delighted. “Hi, everyone! Um…why did you all come here?”

“Um, sorry to interrupt your dinner,” murmured Yukiko, stepping forward and holding out a big, pink plush alligator. “We went to a promotional event in the city, and we won Nanako-chan a prize at one of the booths!”

“Just like from that story, huh?” Kanji grinned. “This one’s…okay, this one’s a little better-looking than the ones I make at the store, honestly.”

“Oh, but don’t feel like you have to take it if you don’t want it,’ insisted Chie. “You don’t have to just be nice, okay, Nanako-chan?”

Dojima could see from the sparkle in Nanako’s eyes that there was no need for Chie to be concerned, and he laughed.

“Isn’t that nice of them, Nanako?”

“Yeah!” Nanako carefully took the pink alligator and hugged it tightly. “Thank you sooo much!”

“You kids wanna come in for a bit?” Dojima gestured at the unfinished sushi on the table. “We’ve got extra. Er, probably not enough for everybody, but, uh…”

“Oh, um, thank you very much,” insisted Yosuke, “but we ate in the city. Is it okay for us to come in and hang out with Nanako-chan for a bit, though?”

“My home is your home.” Dojima gestured to the sofa. “I’m sure Nanako would be happy for the company. It’s been just the two of us for a couple of days, now…she’s looking lonely.”

“Dad, I’m NOT!” Nanako glared at him, but she did look happy, nonetheless.

Mumbling their enthusiastic thank-yous, the entire crew of Yu’s friends tumbled into the small Dojima residence, finding places for themselves on sofas, chairs, and hanging out around the kitchen.

Yosuke ended up right next to Nanako on the floor. Nanako turned to him, still happily clutching her pink alligator, and suddenly narrowed her eyes at him. Dojima had just a moment to feel the trepidation creeping in before Nanako spoke up.

“Yosuke,” she asked pointedly, “are you and Big Bro going to get married?”

“Wha…WHA?” Yosuke’s mouth dropped open and he stared at her.

“Yosuke!’ Teddie looked horrified. “Are you truly trying to steal Sensei from me? Betrayed, stabbed in the back at the last moment! Yosuke, I trusted you!”

Dojima winced.

“Shut up, you stupid bear! What…what are you talking about, Nanako-chan?” Yosuke laughed, very, very nervously. “Why…what put that idea into your head?”

Okay, now Dojima was even more suspicious than before.

“Huh?” Kanji looked up in surprise. “Yosuke-senpai’s got the hots for Yu-senpai? Eh, well, guess I can’t blame him, Senpai’s the shit. I mean, uh…s-sorry, Nanako-chan. Senpai’s pretty great, I mean.”

“What? No! I do not ‘have the hots’ for anybody…I mean, uh, no, that’s no true, I do…I do like girls. I like girls! Yeah, I like girls. Sorry, Nanako-chan, but I can’t marry your Big Bro, because I like girls. JUST GIRLS, okay?” For some reason, Yosuke was glaring at Kanji, who seemed totally unperturbed.

“Oh, well…that’s good!” Nanako seemed to have cheered up a bit. “Because Big Bro is gonna marry me, so he’s off limits!”

“No worries.” Yosuke laughed, looking a little relieved. “Is that all this is about? Don’t worry, Nanako-chan, he’s all yours…unless Rise gets to him first.”

“What? Um…” Rise suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Well, that’s…hey, I don’t want to be rivals with Nanako-chan, that’s just…that’s just not right!”

“Where’s all of this coming from, Nanako-chan?” Yukiko was frowning. “Are you really thinking about marriage already? Isn’t it best to wait until you’re a little older before you make decisions like that? After all, you might meet someone you like even better than Yu-kun. You never know!”

“Nuh-uh.” Nanako shook her head. “That’s not possible.”

Dojima sighed. “Nanako…had some questions tonight about love and marriage. Apparently, she, uh, learned a few things at the Love Meets Bonds festival that made her start thinking. I didn’t know kids even started thinking about stuff like that this young, but…there you have it.” He shrugged.

“Ah,” Naoto nodded. “I see. Yes, that makes sense. The world is a complicated place, full of new things to learn when you’re young, and the big city is full of new people. Nanako-chan probably had a lot of new experiences at the festival.”

“It’s my dance instructor, isn’t it?” Rise was smiling wryly. “Did he…hit on you, Dojima-san?”

Dojima turned bright red. “Uh…”

“Rise-chan!” Chie looked horrified. “You can’t just…you can’t just ask stuff like that!”

“I’m sorry, Dojima-san.” Rise sighed. “I can tell by your face…he was a bit much, huh? Don’t worry, he’s harmless. He’s just got good taste, that’s all!”

“Rise-chan!” Yukiko was staring.

“It’s true,” murmured Nanako thoughtfully. “Dad is very handsome. But…still…Dad loves Mom, so he’s taken. Also…Dad loves girls. I don’t know if he loves boys too, so…”

“Urgh.” Dojima wondered if there was some way he could get out of this. Maybe, with everyone here, he could make an excuse to dart into the other room for a bit, and Nanako would lose interest with all her friends visiting, and forget about him.

“But…Dad does love Big Bro,” Nanako went on slowly, working things out for herself, “So…”

“There are so many different kinds of love, Nanako-chan,” interrupted Yukiko gently. “Your Dad loves you, and your Big Bro so much, because you’re his family, and you’re very special to him. He loves your Mom deeply, forever.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kanji. “You don’t have to pick just like…one kind of love, right?” He blushed a little as he said it, glancing over at Naoto, who blinked, and then looked away quickly. “You, uh…wait, how do I put this? Uh-!”

“You can love your friends soooooooo much,” Chie took over, “like I love Yukiko!”

Yukiko smiled.

“And you can love someone special too,” Rise added, “in a very special way, like…like your Dad loves your Mom.” She smiled gently. “You don’t have to choose just one kind of love, you can have lots!”

“And you don’t just have to choose one gender, either,” agreed Naoto quietly. “You can love boys and girls, in whatever way you want.”

“It’ll make more sense when you’re older, Nanako-chan,” insisted Yosuke.

“Uh, probably,” muttered Kanji. “It’s all pretty damn confusing no matter how old you get, if you ask me…”

“Well, nobody asked you, Kanji,” quipped Teddie. Kanji just glared at him. “Nana-chan, don’t you worry. Teddie will love you for ever and ever!”

“Hey, Teddie!” Yosuke looked exasperated. “Nobody said she wanted your love.”

“I do!” insisted Nanako. “I love all of you very, very much. You’re my…my second family! Um, is that okay, Dad? Is it okay to have more family?”

She turned back to look at Dojima, who smiled, relieved.

“Of course it is,” he said, nodding firmly. “You all have a place here, always. Thanks for dropping by and for bringing a present for Nanako. Now…don’t you think you should be getting home before it gets too late? Your parents will worry.”

With murmured apologies and goodnights, each of the friends gave Nanako a wave or a hug, and headed out the door, until the room was mercifully quiet and empty again.

Actually, thought Dojima, for just a split second, it felt a little bit…more lonely.

Nanako was still watching the door, snuggling her pink alligator and looking thoughtful and a bit sad.

“Come here, girl,” murmured Dojima. “There’s something important I want to tell you.”

Nanako came back over and sat down by Dojima’s side. Dojima smiled at her and smoothed back her hair with rough fingers, something he rarely did, but something that always made Nanako smile.

“Listen,” he began, sighing a little. “Someday, NOT RIGHT NOW, mind you, but someday, you’re gonna want to bring someone into this family, maybe someone that you’re going to want to marry or spend a lot more special time with.”

Nanako opened his mouth to interject, but Dojima raised a hand to quiet her.

“And when you bring that person home for the first time,” he went on sternly, “there are going to be some questions I’m going to ask you.”

“Questions?” Nanako frowned.

“Yeah,” repeated Dojima. “Questions. I’m going to want to know how that person treats you, and what they do when you’re sad. I’m going to want to know if that person makes you smile even when they’re in a bad mood, and I’m going to want to know that that person would do absolutely anything for you, just like I would.”

“Anything for me,” murmured Nanako, eyes wide.

“And if that person treats you well, and makes you smile, and makes you happy, and respects you,” Dojima finished, “then that’s all I’ll need to know. Do you understand? Nothing else matters. What matters is that they’re good to you. Okay, Nanako?”

“Okay, Dad.” Nanako was beaming now. “I understand.”

“Well, uh…that’s good.” Dojima took a deep breath. “That’s all I have to say about that now. Go on, put your dishes away and get up to bed, it’s getting late and we’ve had a lot of uh, unexpected excitement this evening. Goodnight.”

Nanako did as she was told, said goodnight to her father, and hurried up to bed.

Long after Nanako was probably fast asleep in her room, Dojima sat on the sofa, trying not to let himself look over at the photo frame that he’d kept face-down on the kitchen counter for months, ever since the murder case had ended.

The photo in the frame was one of him and Adachi at the police station. Adachi was beaming half-heartedly at the camera, while Dojima glared at him, annoyed at the pointless interruption to his day. Dojima had hated that photo, but for some reason he’d gotten it framed on a whim and put it up in the house, maybe just to brighten up the place, since there seemed to be so much emptiness and blankness about his home now that Chisato was gone.

Now that the photo wasn’t visible anymore, he hoped that Nanako had forgotten all about it, but for some reason, Dojima couldn’t seem to forget.

Partner, huh,” he mumbled half-sleepily to himself, thinking back on what Yukiko and Chie had said about there being so many different kinds of love.

Shaking his head a little, he finally got up from the sofa, stretched, and headed up to bed, pointedly ignoring the photo frame as he passed it, refusing to look directly at it.

After all, he thought to himself, no matter what it had meant before, there was no reason to think about it now. It didn’t matter now.


End file.
